Synonyms
Equatorial; Subtropical; Tropical
Definition
Soil. This is the unconsolidated mineral material on the immediate surface of the earth that serves as a medium for plant growths. It is also a product of soil formation.
Tropical soils. These are soils found within the vicinity and overlap the two tropics, Cancer and Capricorn.
Equatorial soils. Terminology often used to describe soils that overlap the equator and extend northward to the Tropic of Cancer and southward to the Tropic of Capricorn.
Subtropical soils. Soils formed on the periphery of the two tropics – Cancer and Capricorn.
Introduction
Of all the major soils of the world, the ones least understood by soil scientists are the soils of the tropics. Most soil scientists describe them as useless soils that are often lateritic and drastically leached. The Soil Survey Staff (1975) attempted to classify world soils to a very low level of generalization, but found it necessary to classify in detail the order of ultisols and...
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Bibliography
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Igwe, C.A. (2011). Tropical Soils, Physical Properties. In: Gliński, J., Horabik, J., Lipiec, J. (eds) Encyclopedia of Agrophysics. Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-3585-1_258
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-3585-1_258
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